


High Tides, Thin Air

by Genrefluid



Category: Trolls (Movies 2016 2020), Trolls: The Beat Goes On (Cartoon), Trolls: TrollsTopia (Cartoon)
Genre: (of some sorts..), Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Mention of Alcoholic Substance, Mutual Pinning, Other, Pre-Trollstopia, Slow Burn, Social Anxiety, Trollex Synth and Bliss Marina are siblings-, Worldbuilding, more to be added - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29011305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Genrefluid/pseuds/Genrefluid
Summary: Sometimes a empty canvas can take days to paint on. Sometimes the painting itself can be seen as horrendous and awful to the eyes of it's artists. But what if, the artist has a second pair of eyes to help find's it meaning???That's where Kore's story begins...
Relationships: Bliss Marina/DJ Suki, Kore (oc)/King Trollex
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	1. Seashells (part one)

The folk troll let out an exhausted groan as they tossed their work attire to the side, letting out a breath of air as they slumped against the door of their cottage-like home, rubbing their fingers against their temples. Work today was exhausting, like usual, but Ms. Dionaea was being _**EXTRA**_ perfectional today, with every arrangement of flowers **_HAVING_** to be sorted alphabetically by the first letter on what **_COLOR_** they were.

Does not help by the time they walked in with a pounding headache and a dazed mind after spending a night finishing a slightly overdue commission.

_**That was a stupid thing to do, yeah, but they're barely was any food and they need some extra money.** _

Kore closed their eyes, trying to relax as a fluttermoth pokes its head out of a room door, mewling and making delighted noises as it fluttered to their owner, nuzzling into their head as a greeting. The folk troll softly chuckled, petting the fluttermoth on the head gently.

"Good evening, Luna. I take it that you've enjoyed an eight-hour nap while I was gone??"

The folk troll tiredly giggled as the moth happily chirped, their little claws wiggling.

"Ah, sounds nice..." Kore sighed out, lips curling into a soft smile as Luna nuzzled into their touch. “I think I should take a nap too. The she-bergen was driving me CRAZY today...”

Luna mewled as she fluttered in the air, the folk troll standing up and doing a few arms stretches as they tread towards the pantry, putting on a pot of water to boil for tea before scrambling through their pantry in search of a tea flavor that fit the current atmosphere.

But of course, being low on material resources in exchange for goods, there were not a lot of flavors to choose from. Only almonds and hibiscus. And Kore was saving the hibiscus flavor for a special occasion so...best to go with the flavor you hate, yeah?!

Grabbing a mug before closing the cabinet door shut, the folk troll discreetly grabbed hold of the almond tea bag, scrunching their nose with disgust as they placed the bag in the empty mug, promptly filling the mug with water before dabbing the tea bag, the warm liquid turning into tea. Kore sat down on the couch with a blanket cozily wrapped around their lower body, slowly taking a sip.

…

……

Yep, nope. Kore slammed their mug down with a disgusted look on their face. They are going to throw hands with whoever created almond-flavored tea, **what troll in their right minds would want to drink that-**

“Hello??? Kore??”

The folk troll’s internal rant was halted with a voice and a series of knocks softly pounding against the door, urging them to rush towards the door as the knocks became frantic and louder.

Kore fixed a part of their hair before swinging the door open, staring down two trolls; One of them happened to be their co-worker, Flora, who happened to be a classical/funk troll. She’s really sweet, understanding. Has a cool girlfriend too! And the troll beside her, a rock troll with frizzly, wild hair. Doesn’t seem to care, or maybe doesn’t like being here.

“Oh, hi Flora! Is there something I can help you with...?”

 **Wow, that wording sounded boring..**.

“Hello! I and my friend were wondering-”

“ _You_ were wondering...” Her friend interrupted, with a hint of disdain in their tone. Kore pointed their eyes at the troll.

“..Right, _I_ was wondering if you’d like to come to this party down at techno beach! I heard there’s dancing, the music of all kinds, and snacks and drinks are provided! Oh, and the king of the techno trolls will be there, kick-offing the party!!”

Kore let out a soft hiss, nervously rubbing their arms as they tried to think of a reasonable response. “I, don’t feel like going...Just got out of work, I’m tired, and it sounds like _a lot_ of trolls will be going to that event-”

“Tons!”

“Yeah, soooooo I’ll be staying in my house. Sorry, Flora...”

The classical funk troll gave her a soft sincere smile. “It’s fine, just wanted to see if you wanted to come!”

“Pssh, you’d think THIS troll would want to go out for a night of fun???” The rock troll sneered, crossing their arms as they look at the folk troll with dissatisfaction. “This one REEKS of not knowing how to have fun..”

Kore did a double-take, their eyes were so close to glaring daggers at this rock troll.

“Excuse you, I know how to have fun!”

“Yeah right!” The rock troll chuckled with condensation in their voice. “You live in a cottage in symphonyville, you have a mug of tea on your, what’s that, a coffee table?”

The folk troll eyes widen the moment they realized the rock troll was peering into their home.

“Hey, can you not, peer into my house!” The folk troll gritted their teeth, as yelling at this troll would come out as ‘rude’ and ‘aggressive’ to Flora who was just standing by with a disappointed look on her face.

“Yeah, your right...” The rock troll gave the folk troll a shit-eating grin. “It looks like shit.”

There was a long pause between the three trolls, the rock troll keeping their stance as Flora shook her head at them and Kore scowled, their fist clenching as they kept their temper steady.

“Kore, you don’t need to-“

“ **I’M GOING. WAIT A SECOND!** ” The folk troll said with an angry huff, shutting the door for a brief minute. Luna whimpered in concern as Kore stomped to their bedroom to change quickly. They do not have nice clothes, but that is fine. If the rock troll complains or insults them though, they are going to hit them where it hurts the most. They do not know where, but they’ll take a wild guess.

As Kore finished putting up their hair, they take out a thing of flowers for Luna to eat that night, petting said fluttermoth as she rubbed their face to calm them down.

“Thanks, Luna,” Kore exhaled, inching towards the doorway. “I’ll be back later tonight! Make sure you don’t try to eat the couch again!”

The fluttermoth solemnly cooed in reply, watching their owner leave for a night of ‘fun’.

-

Kore took a deep breath as they take in the salty seawater. If their mind were not so unraveled about the many trolls that crowded the caterbus during the ride here, they would escape to fond memories of when they lived with the sea shanty trolls. Loud as they might be, they knew how to make the folk troll comfortable with the atmosphere in every way possible, and naturally treated them like family.

The same cannot be set about the CURRENT atmosphere right now, which consists of bright neon lights, loud chatter and music, and so, many, trolls. A tight feeling swelled in their chest, their wings anxiously twitching as Flora’s comforting hand was placed on their shoulder.

“I and Minerva are going to be on the dancefloor! We can meet up in an hour or so to leave together, is that okay?”

“Y-yeah...” The folk troll said with a forced excited tone, trying not to set the funk/classical troll’s feelings down. She smiled and raced off ahead with Minerva’s arm hooked with her’s, their bored expression disappearing as the duo mixed into the crowd of dancing trolls, bopping along to the current music that played.

The folk troll wonders why their even friends in the first place. Minerva seems kind of...spiteful. And Judgmental. Something that could be contrasted with Flora’s kind and positive attitude. Kore shook their head. No, it’s none of their business what their friendship might delve into. Besides, they have…bigger things they need to worry about. Like-

“Please move!”

The folk troll let out a soft gasp as they stumbled, trying to keep their balanced after they were shoved aside by a pop troll and his techno girlfriend. They quietly glared down at the blue pop troll as the couple walked away, rubbing their arm from the twinge of soreness from the push.

_**Rude pastel-faced fucker…** _

Kore let out a groan as they peeked up at where the DJ booth was set up;

It was set up on a seashell-like stage, with a rainbow-banded techno troll controlling the booth itself. His eyes were so focused on each other, his hands shifting and moving along to the beat as if he were synced to the music itself. He paused every once in a while to hype everyone up, his cheerful smile nearly infectious.

And each time the crowd roared with excitement and vigor, prompting the folk troll to cover their ears and wince.

The folk troll exhaled as they walk over to a bar that has been set up by the beachside. They are not much of a drinker themselves, but they will happily pretend to be drunk in favor of consuming to their skyrocketing anxiety. They let out a huff as they sat on one of the bar stools, waiting for the bartender to notice them.

As they waited, they put a piece of their curly hair on their shoulders, running their fingers through the many locks and whatnot. Kore’s paused as their eyes met the shorelines of the sea, where young trollings were discreetly splashing each other with the glittery water, others playing with small lily pads that were lit with neon lights, making them more visible in the dim night.

Their eyes looked further out into the open sea, a feeling of loneliness washing over them as memories of the sea shanty trolls started to flood back.

_**Was it a good idea to move onto land…? The sole reason they came here was so that they can improve themselves in terms of adjusting to all the other trolls. But the whole thing felt fruitless. Yes, they managed to gain a home in Symphonyvile, and they have Luna with them so they don't be entirely lonely, but everything just feels so…blank.** _

Kore snaps out of their train of thought as the bartender tapped his fingers in front of them, a blank expression masking his features as he waited for their order.

“Um…Black Raspberry Sparkling water, please? With extra ice.”

The bartender nodded as he got to work making the folk troll’s drink, doing a few well-known bartender tricks and moves that would usually make trolls swoon. Kore, however, just stared at him with confusion with an eyebrow inching downward, blinking as the bartender slammed their drink down in front of them.

“Uh, thaaaaaank you…” The folk troll drawled in confusion, the tender giving a subtle nod as he swiftly moves to clean a few glass cups.

Kore dabs the straw that was placed decoratively in their beverage, ice cubes bobbing along with each ripple the folk troll produced with their straw. After a few minutes of watching random trolls pass by the bar area in favor of dancing along to the admittedly addictive EDM tune, Kore took a sip of their drink, a fizzy sensation cooling their mouth and throat, sending a wintry sensation along the trolls’ spine.

Kore let out a content sigh, a sense of relaxation tempting them to calm down. And for a moment, they were at peace.

Until a set of fingers brushed down on the folk trolls’ left arm, causing them to let out a panicked gasp, slapping the hand away in the process. They stared down what seems to be a country-western troll, his lips curling upwards into a flirtatious, yet disturbing smile. Kore felt their anxiety spike and internally tried to keep their cool.

“C-can I help you…?” The folk troll asked with a hint of aversion in their voice, crossing their arms as the eyes pointed at the random stranger.

“Ah, nothin’…” He paused, looking up and down the folk troll body, causing them to cross their arms as a wave of discomfort washes over them. “Just that you look like a troll that you look like a real peach~!”

The country troll gave them a wink, and suddenly Kore felt something get caught in their throat, resulting in them peering back in their drink. He gave them a hard, aggravated look, his palms slowly balled up into a fist.

“Really?? You say nothin' after I complimented you???”

“Well, you made me feel uncomfortable, so NO, I’m not saying anything to you..” Kore sneered, glaring down the country troll at the corner. He was scowling in response.

“Besides,” Kore paused, taking a long sip of their drink and exhaling. “A compliment isn’t gonna get a troll to fond over you, it takes-“

“YEAH YEAH I HEARD, JUST THOUGHT YOU WERE CHEAP ENOUGH TO FALL FOR IT.” The country troll hollered, the country troll hollered, slamming his fists against the bar table that made the glasses shook, the bartender's arm’s launching forward to prevent them from falling over and spilling everywhere.

Kore narrowed their eyes down at the country troll. “Excuse you? _CHEAP????_ WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE????”

“A gentletroll unlike yourself. I’ve trying to be nice and y’all being stubborn as an adorabull with a needle up their butt!”

The folk troll can feel their blood boiling, their fist-clenching with rage as if they're ready to tear this troll a new one, their eyes on the verge of becoming wet with tears.

“Can you just leave me alone, please? It’s all I’m asking...”

The country troll let out a gruff tsk. “You are such a _**crybaby**_. You don’t belong here; you belong in a ranch for a bunch of sorry lowlifes…”

Kore paused, their anger being replaced with a form of sadness and self-hatred. They closed their eyes shut to make sure the stranger doesn’t see them cry.

That was until they heard the stranger let out a gasp, a set of hooves pacing back as a faint neon light haze their shut vision.

“Hey bud, that’s not nice to say…”


	2. Seashells (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the 'fairy' talks with a 'mermaid'

The crowd around the bar gasped and whispered upon King Trollex’s arrival to the area. The king himself decided to take a break and let his potential sister-in-law, DJ Suki, take the stage, keeping the party going with his sister willingly dancing by his side. Trollex since then has been making sure everyone was having fun and comfortable.

It only when he heard a set of shouts coming from the bar and was now face to face with a country troll, who seemed to be the cause of the trouble.

“Didn’t your parents teach you anything about respect???”

The techno king floated forward, his arms crossed as he stared down the rude party guest, who had his hat apologetically pressed against his chest.

“W-why, yes they have! But you see, King Trollex, this *party crasher*is stinking up the whole party!”

He pointed to the troll behind him, prompting the king to look over his shoulder. This troll was looking at the scene with an uneasy expression, looking at the king with a worried expression.

“Can you explain what happened?” He turned towards the green-winged troll, which made the troll pause a bit.

Kore mumbled, fixing a strand of their hair and putting it behind their ear. “I was just having a drink, and then he grazed my arm without consent-“

“THEY’RE LYING-“

The techno king whipped back at the country troll, glaring his neon green eyes down at him, causing him to cower and whimper. The king took a deep breath, his hands folding on top of one another. His eyes pointed to the bartender.

“Is this true Malt?”

He stared between the country troll and Kore, nodding without a word. The king let out a groan, clearly disappointed at how this night might turn into a minor disaster. He turned towards the winged troll, who he honestly had no clue on what genre they were.

“I am so sorry you have to deal with this guy,” the king said with a hint of uneasiness in his tone. “We’ll get him out as *quick* as possible…”

Trollex snapped his fingers, and suddenly the bartender was no longer behind the barn stall.

“Malt, please take care of this unwanted guest.”

Malt nodded, grabbing the country troll and throwing him over his shoulders, his hooves kicking and waving in the air in retaliation.

“HEY WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DOIN’!?!?!?”

“You’re getting kicked out for making a troll uncomfortable.” The king said plainly, crossing his arms and peering at the former guest with the stern in his eyes.

“WHAT!?!?!?!? THIS IS A OUTRAGE!!” The country troll roared, the bartender adjusting his hold on the wiggling troll.

“Well, next time don’t be rude and leave that troll alone!”

As the two of them moved through the crowd, trolls stared at them with confusion, shock, or stifling laughter. They watched as Malt hurls the country troll onto into the cold, sand, some of which had embarrassingly been stuffed in his mouth, causing him to gag and spit out the remains of the gritty, pastel yellow gravel. He looked over his shoulder, scowling at the neon lights as he sets himself on all four of his hooves, muttering under his breath about ‘payback’.

The folk troll gripped their dress shirt, a wave of guilt hitting them like a pile of bricks. The king turned to them, a sincere look spreading across his features.

“Hey, once again, I’m sorry that guy was messing with you...”

Kore said nothing, only letting out an inaudible mutter before running off towards the beachside, Trollex looking on with concern and confusion in his eyes.

“HEY BRO!!” He felt hand pressed up against his right shoulder, and upon looking it was, in fact, his youngest brother Synth, who was high on party adrenaline. “THIS IS A *AWESOME* PARTY, YOU SHOULD DO MORE!!!”

Trollex scrunched his nose and squinted as Synth practically yells in his ear fins, casually moving his hand away as he gripped his shoulders, so he is paying attention and maintaining eye contact.

“Uh-huh, okay, listen! I need to check on some troll, I don’t think they're doing too well, make sure nothing goes haywire I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Okay!”

“Okay- DON’T GET DISTRACTED BY BRIGHT LIGHTS, BLISS IS FLOATING RIGHT THERE NEXT TO SUKI, SHE’S GONNA TELL ME EVERYTHING, OKAY?”

“Okay got it!” Synth gave him a thumbs-up as his tongue poking out in a goofy fashion.

Trollex smirked and shook his head as he floated off away from the party, silently calling him a ‘goofball’ as he went off to find the runaway.

-

Kore stood at the shorelines away from the party, the music, and chatter inaudible due to the vast distance between them. The folk troll let out a relaxed sigh as the ocean waves washed their feet, the left-over sea glitter sprinkling their knees. They held themselves in their arms, closing their eyes as they take in the crisp breeze.

Letting out a deep sigh, they took a deep breath and began to sing a little...

“Idir ann is idir as…” They muttered, the breeze making their two lone strands of hair sway in the curling, unseen wind. “Idir thuaidh is idir theas...”

Kore narrowed their eyes, their growing anxiety pressing against their skin and causing them to stop singing.

*Maybe…maybe they can visit the sea shanty trolls, maybe they won’t mind Kore visiting them for a possibly long time. They know the ships somewhere out in the big blue, and they can fly-*

“That sounded nice, by any chance are you a Celtic folk tro-“A voice spoke up behind them, causing them to yelp, stumbling before slipping in the cold water, getting wet in the process. Kore let out an annoyed growl, and Trollex looks at them with sympathetic awkwardness.

“Uh, sorry about *that* too...” He chuckled, lending a hand towards them. Kore hesitated a couple of times, but when a wave washed over them and wetting their hair with glitter in the process, they knew it was time to get up.

Kore let out a soft huff as they were helped up, stumbling forward as they let out a groan from getting soaking wet. As the folk troll do their best to drain their frizzy hair from leftover water, the techno king looks on with worry.

“Hey, are you-?” The techno troll asked them, receiving a narrowed down eyebrow from them.

“YES I am a folk troll, and before you ask, YES I’m, fine. Why are you asking?”

“Welllll,” The techno king paused, placing his webbed hands on his hips. “You seemed tense, your voice became inaudible for a second, you sound aggravated, and your wings are slightly twitchy.

*oh feathers, are they?”

Kore peered down at their wing, which was slightly vibrating and, by look, tense.

“Hm..” The folk troll muttered, tossing their hair back and taking a part of their shirt, and soaking all the water out. “To be honest, I haven’t noticed...”

The techno troll pressed his lips together, something in his mind is processing.

“Listen, I know you told me you are fine, but to be honest, I think your not. I think something else is going on inside your head.”

The folk troll paused, staring down the techno king with a sad look before staring down the sandy beach.

“…Okay, maybe, I’m not doing all right. But why does it matter to you how I feel, shouldn’t you worry about your party?”

“It matters to me because I care about the well-being of my party attenders. I do not just, host a rave and force everyone to dance! No, they have their boundaries and I respect that! So, I make sure there are these areas and safe-spaces where trolls are most comfortable!”

“Huh...” Kore muttered, rubbing their arms solemnly as they took a deep breath. “Well…for starters, I’ve never wanted to go to the party, no offense.”

“None was taken.”

“Okay. But there is this, rock troll who sort of, pushed my boundaries and made fun of me for not wanting to go…”

The folk troll could have sworn they saw the techno troll earful twitched at the word ‘rock troll’ but he nodded, and they decided to press forward.

“Fast forward to the country troll accident, my body felt…unsafe? I didn’t *feel* safe, I felt like, my boundaries were being pushed for the sake of everyone else’s needs…”

The folk troll head shook a bit, their hands clenching hard.

“I don’t understand why trolls can’t let other trolls be, they don’t know a THING about common decency…”

“Yeah, that’s not okay...” The techno troll sighed, lowering his head. “I’m sorry your boundaries were pushed; do you need a ride home???”

“No, my friend is going to take me home after she dances for a good while, so I might stay here for a bit and look out into the sea.”

“Mmhmm, I’ll vibe to that. Um,” The techno troll rubbed the back of his head. “Can I hang with ya for a bit? That performance kind of emotionally exhausted the scales off me, and I need to compose before I go back.”

Kore looks at them with a curious eye, slowly nodding their head. “Yeah, sure. Go ahead.”

Trollex gave them a soft smile, sitting down on the beach floor and stretching out his fins and arms.

And for a few good minutes, there was a sense of serenity in the air, with the sounds of the ebb and flowing waves to keep the two trolls’ company. The techno troll dragged his index finger along the sand to make small drawings of fish. Kore smiled down at the little drawings.

“That’s adorable.” Kore muttered softly, drawing a few strands of kelp near the fishes and adding some sea flowers.

“And those are some nice plants!” Trollex comment, earning a chuckle from the folk troll.

“You know, well, maybe I shouldn’t say…”

“You started the sentence with ‘you know’, and I don’t know, so *NOW* you have to tell me!” The techno troll teased, earning a stifled laugh.

“Okay, okay, okay! Um, you know, I am an artist…”

The techno troll smiled at her as he continued to make small drawings in the sand. “Nice! Do you paint or- “

“I watercolor, and paint in general. I also like doing sketch art, and now I have commissions opened!”

“Ah, okay, so if I commission you, you have to draw me like one of your techno trolls~!” The king stifled his laughter as Kore nearly choked, covering their mouth as they muffled their laughter.

“Oh, my troll, okay, for the sake of not having me be flustered the whole time, I’m going to deny that request- “

“I was joking but fair enough!” The mertroll snorted, no longer being able to hold in his amusement.

Soon enough they both consumed in a fit of mirth, doubling over themselves as they fill their air with their silly laughter. A moment past, the two trolls’ come down from their high, wiping away their tears from laughing so hard.

“Ah, I haven’t laughed like that in a long time…” Kore sighed, the techno troll lowering his unibrow in curiosity.

“Really, when was the last time you laughed that way???”

The lips pressed together as they let out a thoughtful hum their eyes softened; their mind thinks back to brief but fond memories.

“Well…”

-

It was before I left my hometown, uh, me and my foster dads was walking along the beach, and there were these strange looking rocks, and one of my dad’s went:

‘Hey, I’m going to try eating one of these rocks’ and goes to take a bite out of them. And, you expect his teeth to break due to biting down on rocks but NOPE! Instead, he made a huge ‘CRUNCH’ sound.

And for a minute, he got INCREDIBLY spooked and went;

‘Holy sea gods, I CAN BITE THROUGH ROCKS’ until my under dad peered under it and said:

‘Honey, that’s a horseshoe snail-‘

And while still crunching on it, he said ‘Eh, it’s not that bad actually’…

-

“And, the whole time, I was laughing my 12-year-old butt off because of the face he made-“

The techno king came down the giggled at the claim, staring at Kore with a stunned look.

“You were *TWELVE* since you laughed like that??? How old are you now..?”

“Hmmm,” Kore briefly hummed out in thought. “Twenty-Nine...”

“So,” Trollex paused in thought, making the math in his head. “...It’s been seventeen years, huh?”

The folk troll nodded, their expression slowly becoming somber. Trollex let out a deep sigh.

“Welp, I made things complicated…”

Kore gave him a soft smile, a hand reaching out towards his shoulder before hesitating and placing it on their lap instead, letting out a breath of air. “You didn’t trust me. You honestly helped me remember something that has been lost in my mind vault.”

The techno king paused, his neon green eyes blinking before letting out a chuckle as he gave them a meek smile in return.

“Well, that’s nice to hear…”

Trollex drummed his fingers against the sand as the duo stared out into the vast ocean, making brief popping noises with his mouth, causing the moderate cyan - lime green troll to stare at him with amused annoyance. He stopped for a minute, puffing his pixelated freckled cheeks as he stared at the folk troll, before making a large ‘POP!’ sound.

He laughed when Kore effortlessly shoved him, their annoyed but playful ‘STOP IT!’ getting to him.

And until Kore went home, the two of them continued to gaze out into the opened sea, the comforting silence keeping them company for a brief time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song is from 'Song of the sea', which inspired a part of Kore's character.
> 
> https://genrefluid.tumblr.com/ is my tumblr account-


End file.
